Firefly gets glowing reviews from most concertgoers

Concertgoers’ opinions of the Firefly Festival in Dover were almost universally positive Sunday, the third and final day of the massive outdoor music fest.

Scott Goss

Concertgoers’ opinions of the Firefly Festival in Dover were almost universally positive Sunday, the third and final day of the massive outdoor music fest.

“It’s been such a good festival,” Chelsea Fleming

of Atlantic City, New Jersey said. “Everything from the water stations to the security has been great. The lineup is so diverse and good that you can jump over to any stage and find something you life”

Fleming’s boyfriend Dave Cooker agreed.

“We’ve discovered some great bands that we’ve never heard before,” he said. “Macy Stewart, who sang with Kids These Days, has the voice on an angel. I had goosebumps the entire show. She’s been our biggest find this weekend.”

Sarah Armstrong-Crumb and Steve Crumb of Brooklyn, N.Y. also said discovering new acts was one of the highlights of their Firefly experience.

“The headliners are great and that’s been cool,” Steve said. “But it’s the smaller bands that we’ve never heard before that have really been our favorites.”

Lauren O’Donnell and Jackie Cicala, both of Drexel Hill, Pa., said they were impressed with the amenities at the festival, particularly its online component.

“I love the phone app,” O’Donnell said. “It gives you the lineup and the schedule, which is really helpful.”

Cicala said she was impressed by all the extras, such as the camping areas, the water stations, food and alcohol vendors and even an air-conditioned tent with free video games.

“They really have provided everything you need,” she said. “It’s been awesome.”

Jessica Johnson of Connecticut was grateful for the emergency responders at the festival who came to her aid when she had a momentary health scare Saturday afternoon.

“I got dehydrated and passed out,” she explained. “The EMTs rushed right over and helped me out and even the people around me were really caring and gave me some water to drink.”

Her friend, Caron Williams of Queens, N.Y., said the festival felt well organized all around.

“It doesn’t feel like this is the first year they’ve done this,” she said. “It’s organized and it flows and none of the lines are very long at all.”

Johnson concurred.

“We like this concert to the 1000th degree,” she said.

While not everyone offered completely positive reviews, even those who weren’t totally satisfied said they still enjoyed themselves.

“When we got here we were looking for the RV parking area and we got detoured around for about two and a half hours,” said Holly Herriott of Ocean City, N.J. “Then I was working at one of the Minute Maid stands and I got fired for giving away free hugs. I mean, let the love flow. This is a love festival.”

Her friend Stacy Jean of Pittsburgh said she heard rumors reminiscent of the brown acid scare at Woodstock.

“We were told someone was passing out brownies with bath salts in them, but who knows if that’s true,” she said. “All the people we’ve met have been really cool.”

“We weren’t allowed to bring in our own water or a blow-up turtle we had so our group could find each other, which is a pretty standard things for big festivals,” Phoebe said. “It also would have been easy for them to smell our water to figure out that it wasn’t alcohol. Why do we have to use their water when there are only two water stations for 50,000 people and you have to wait in line for 45 minutes?”

Ashley said she would have preferred if the lineup had been more staggered.

“I’m upset that, like, the Flaming Lips and Girl Talk are both playing at the same time and I have to chose one or the other,” she said. “Still, I would say it was a good effort for a first-time festival.”

Meanwhile, one local music lover said she had no complaints whatsoever.

“This is the best thing that’s happened in Delaware in a long time,” Alexa Messick of Dover, Del. said. “My friends and I got three-day passes and we’ve been able to sleep at home because we only live about 10 minutes away. We’ve had a lot of fun and I’m glad something like this is happening near us.”

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